Round two amendments for Hampden league juniors

The executive met on Monday night and decided to tweak round two fixtures after multiple round one matches were postponed due to a COVID-19 scare in Colac.

Some games between Camperdown and South Warrnambool and Cobden and Terang Mortlake were postponed.

The league has amended the round two fixture, changing two match-ups.

Camperdown and Cobden will now meet at Leura Oval while Warrnambool will host Terang Mortlake at Reid Oval.

The original fixture had Terang Mortlake hosting Camperdown and Warrnambool playing Cobden.

"Following consultation with all member clubs, the HFNL executive were confident in their decision to continue with the season with the above amendments," it said in a statement.

"The HFNL will continue to monitor relevant health advice from the various government and stakeholder bodies including, but not limited to the Department of Health and Human Services, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria.

"The health and safety of all players, coaches, officials and members of the community will always take priority in the decision making of the HFNL, and we will take swift action should the relevant health advice change."

Cobden junior president Wayne Robertson said the Bombers "fully supported" the league's decision to alter the fixture.

He said Bombers players who did compete in round one "had a ball".

"The smiles on their faces and the enjoyment they got out of it is why it's important for this to go ahead, provided it can be done in a safe environment, which we think it is with all the controls in place," Robertson told The Standard.

Robertson also issued a statement on Cobden's junior club Facebook page clarifying Saturday's situation after a Colac Trinity College year 12 student tested positive for COVID-19.

He said Cobden's links to the school were "all in the junior and middle school grades".

The Department of Health and Human Services' definition of a close contact "means having face-to-face contact for more than 15 minutes or sharing a closed space for more than two hours with a confirmed case of coronavirus when they were infectious".

In the statement Robertson confirmed "no member of our club has been identified in this process and at this stage will be permitted to return to school on Thursday".

Robertson wrote that the "Barwon Health contact tracing team has been working with the school and has spoken to and identified anyone who has been in close contact with the student while they were possibly infectious".

"As a further precaution the DHHS has informed the school of other senior students and teaching staff that are to quarantine for two weeks," it read.

Robertson said Cobden had remained in communication with their members and families.

"Please remember these kids are all aged between 12 and 15 (and) are very innocent participants in this," he said.

Camperdown president Kevin Russell conceded he's "not really sure what is going to become" of the season but the Magpies were happy to play whoever this weekend, given they will play each side once.

"I am curious to know what is going to happen in the next few weeks," he said of the junior season.

Warrnambool president Simon Perry said the Blues were content with the round two changes.

"We're happy to work with the league and any club to make sure we get our kids out there playing," he said.

"We had a home fixture and I just said 'as long as we keep the home game because our parents already travelled last week to Hamilton'."

Perry described round one as a success.

"We felt last week went really well in Hamilton and families are really happy because their kids are out playing sport again and are happy and healthy," he said.

"I think the league has done an amazing job to pull this together and I know there's been a huge amount of work from volunteers in clubs. It is a different year and different set of circumstances we find ourselves in.

"At the moment it's week-by-week and we're happy to work that way."

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